Underwater stuntman Ricou Browning died Sunday of natural causes in his home in Southwest Ranches, FL, at age 93. His son, Ricou Browning Jr., confirmed his father’s death.

Browning’s most famous role was his portrayal of the Gill-man in director Jack Arnold’s 1954 horror classic Creature from the Black Lagoon and his reprising the role in the sequels. Revenge of the Creature (1955) and The Creature Walks Among Us (1956). He’s considered the last surviving original actor to portray any of the Universal Classic Monsters. However, actor Ben Chapman wore the Creature costume for the land scenes, and Browning’s elegantly disturbing aquatic performance lent the film its particular cinematic grace.

Browning started studying physical education at Florida State University, eventually working at Wakulla Springs in the 1940s, a scenic park often used for underwater locations on film sets. In 1953, Browning assisted a film crew in scouting locations for an upcoming Universal horror film. Eventually, he was asked to don the Gill-man costume that would become an iconic Hollywood classic.

By the early 1960s, Browning was branching out into other aspects of the film and TV industries and would continue to do so for the following decades. In 1963, he co-produced the dolphin tale Flipper for the big screen and later for television in 1964-67, directing over 30 episodes of the NBC series.

His credits include work as a second unit director, stunt coordinator, and underwater sequence director on films such as Hello Down There (1969), Salty (1973), Thunderball (1965), Around the World Under the Sea (1966), Island of the Lost (1967) Never Say Never Again (1983), and Caddyshack (1980).

Browning is survived by his son and his daughters Renee, Kelly, and Kim.